


Everything Felt Right

by minamorsart



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, One Shot, Reylo - Freeform, Romance, i just want these lonely idiots to get together already
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 07:54:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14732981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minamorsart/pseuds/minamorsart
Summary: "You... You're the only person who's ever understood me, and not just because the Force is connecting us. My own friends banished me, I was alone, and the only person―all I could think about―was you.""You need to be banished in order for me to be in your head?""That's not―" she began to protest."I know that's not what you meant," he said, a hint of a smile on his pale face. "It was a joke."





	Everything Felt Right

_"Traitor."_

_"Exile."_

_"Don't ever come back."_

Rey kept hearing those words over and over again in her ears, kept replaying the moment in her head. The moment when her friends, or the people whom she thought were her friends, banished her. She was no longer considered a part of The Resistance. Now, she was a disgrace.

Leia was gone, Chewie was gone. At least they'd let her take the Millennium Falcon. Now it was just her, some stowaway porgs, and an old ship. It was lonely, and it was quiet.

She'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts about what had just happened, she'd almost forgotten the freighter was still in light speed. Just in time, she switched off the hyperdrive and found herself in front of a planet she thought she'd never set eyes on again―Jakku.

It wouldn't have been her first choice, but then again, she didn't know of any second or third choices; Jakku was the only place she knew, and she knew how to survive there. As she entered its atmosphere and made out the familiar landscape, she did not smile. This had been her home, yes, but she had no love for it.

The Millennium Falcon landed roughly in the sand in Niima Outpost, bystanders staring up at it in awe. Rey exited, and the people all looked at her. They stepped aside, getting out of her way. Were they afraid of her? She strode up to Unkar Plutt's trading post to find him still there, cruel and terrible-looking as ever. His slimy mouth opened in shock, his beady eyes widened.

"You," he croaked. "Hm, thought you were dead."

"Well, I'm not," Rey remarked. "I'm back."

"What do you want?"

"I need portions," she said. "And I want my speeder back." His eyes narrowed.

"Both aren't free," he growled. Rey slammed a fistful of credits on the counter. His mouth fell to the ground.

"This should be more than enough. Also, no one is to touch the Falcon." She leaned forward and glared at him. "Do you understand?"

"Hmph," came his reply. She walked out from underneath the large tent, ignoring the stares. Stuffing the portions in her bag and locating her speeder, she sped to the only place where she knew she could be alone.

 

The AT-AT looked exactly the same, as if she'd only left yesterday. She hopped off of her speeder and walked towards it. All the adventures she had, meeting Finn, Han, Leia... It felt like a lifetime ago.

Shouldering her bag, she marched through the sand, making the same steps towards her home, feeling like a little girl again. She ducked her head to get in, then froze.

In the spot where she used to sleep was someone else. The figure was fast asleep, breathing silently. Carefully, she unclipped her lightsaber from her belt, ignited and―

Was met with a bright, red, crackling saber!

"Ben!" she exclaimed.

"Rey?" Ben said in disbelief as he got to his feet, immediately putting away his weapon. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" she retorted. "This is my home!"

"It is?" he looked around, as if seeing it for the first time. "Rey―"

But she was already outside, headed back to her speeder. How was he here, of all places? And it just had to be _him._

"Rey!" she could hear him grunting as he struggled to run across the sand as she mounted the speeder. He grabbed her arm. "Rey."

She swallowed as she turned to look at him. Those eyes...

"If you won't leave, I'll find another place," she stated, but he kept his hold on her.

"Don't go," he said, so quietly she almost missed it. He took a step closer to her. "Stay."

She had so many questions, but those could wait. She slowly stepped onto the sand. He was standing so close to her; her heart raced, thumping in her chest. She walked past him and back into the AT-AT, him following close behind. Now what?

"Have you... eaten anything?"

"Not since yesterday."

"I have food," she told him. "Just wait a moment." She set her bag down by her makeshift stove and opened it, expecting to see the small, green portions. They were there, but so was something else.

"Gaaak!" an animal cried.

"What is that?" came Ben's voice by her ear.

The creature blinked its eyes at them, chirping uncertainly.

"It's a porg," Rey answered in amusement. "There are dozens of them on the Falcon. This one must have snuck out.

"The Millennium Falcon is here?" he asked, his tone grave.

"Yes," she said. She lifted the porg out and onto the floor. She could see it having a brief stare-down with Ben before walking around the interior of the AT-AT to inspect its new surroundings.

Dinner was quiet. Rey had forgotten how tasteless the portions were, it had been so long. Occasionally, she'd glance at Ben, who ate without a word. What in the galaxy was he doing here? How was it that the shelter he stumbled upon happen to be hers? The answer was obvious―the Force. Somehow, the mysterious energy led them once more to each other. How exactly, she had yet to figure out.

The last time they saw each other, she'd slammed the door of the Falcon in his face, seemingly cutting off their connection. But it wasn't so. After that, she would sense his presence, but she did nothing. And if he had sensed her, he'd done the same.

They finished their meals in silence, the only source of noise was the porg waddling around and chirping, and the wind blowing outside. Rey and Ben caught each other's eye, but she quickly turned away and went out. She climbed on top of the AT-AT and stood still, letting the breeze caress her face. The sky was beginning to darken.

Behind her, Ben's footsteps echoed off the exterior of the giant machine. She felt him, standing only a few feet away.

"Why don't you say something?" he asked quietly. She bowed her head.

"I have no idea _what_ to say," she said.

"Say anything."

She took a deep breath. "Are we enemies?"

"No," came the reply.

"Are we friends?"

"No."

"Do you hate me?"

"No."

"Do you―" she stopped herself, realizing what she was about to say.

"Do I what?"

_Do you love me?_

She shook her head and turned around. He waited expectantly.

"It's nothing," she said, and made to walk past him. Again, he grabbed her arm.

"Rey."

She couldn't look away from his eyes, they were a beautiful brown. Nervously, she licked her lips. He leaned down, she began to close her eyes.

Then she angled her head downward. Ben exhaled through his nose and he let go of her arm.

"Good night, Ben," she said softly and she left him. She didn't hear him come in and she was wasn't sure if he even did, for she had fallen asleep.

 

Rey woke up to the pain of the porg tugging on a few strands of her hair. She gently batted it away and sat up, rubbing her eyes. The AT-AT was empty except for her and the little winged creature. She ran outside to see the sun about to rise. She looked at the porg.

"Did you see where he went?"

It blinked at her. She checked her surroundings. Her speeder was still here, so where was Ben? She ran to the old, battered vehicle and took off.

Rey, forgetting about her goggles, had to squint so as to not get any sand in her eyes. He could've gone anywhere, and there was no way to know when he'd left. Desperately, she made for the hills to get a better view from the higher ground. She hopped off her speeder and ran along the peak of the hill, nearly slipping several times.

"Ben!" she shouted frantically. "BEN!" Turning her body around, she could only see sand below her. "BEN! Where are you?!"

"Rey?"

She stumbled in surprise. There he was, standing several yards behind her. It seemed he had been in the hills, too. She sighed in relief.

"I've never seen you so happy to see me," he muttered, making his way to her. He wore no protection from the wind, just the same dark tunic, pants, and boots. The wind whipped at his hair and he was shivering.

"What were you thinking?" she scolded. She ran to him, took off her cloak and wrapped it around him with difficulty because of his height. He looked at her as she adjusted the cloth around his shoulders. She stared at him for a moment before coming back to her senses. "What were you doing out here?"

"Surveying the area," he answered, trying to keep his teeth from chattering.

"Being in the desert doesn't mean hot weather all the time," she said. "Don't you know that?" He said nothing, just kept his eyes on her. "We need to get you warm. Let's go." She made for the speeder but he didn't follow. "Ben?"

"Were you worried about me?"

Rey opened and closed her mouth. "Come on." He did, and climbed on the speeder behind her, tentatively placing his hands at her waist.

 

"It's still here," Ben remarked once they got back. Rey, preparing breakfast, didn't need to look to see that he was talking about their new little friend.

"He's no trouble," she assured him.

"And there are more?" He took a seat on the ground.

"Yeah, they took a liking to Chew―” She cleared her throat and busied herself with the stove.

"They're all gone, aren't they?" he asked. She didn't have to ask what he meant.

"Yes," she answered, eyes on her food.

"Then why are you here, Rey?" Ben sighed. "Why aren't you with your rebel _friends_?"

"And why aren't you with your First Order friends?" she retorted, glaring at him.

"I have no friends," he replied quietly. Rey's gaze softened.

"Neither do I."

She handed him a plate and for a while, they ate again in silence. But Rey had to get something off her chest.

"I was banished," she blurted out, then paused and waited for his reaction. He scooted closer to her, eyes intense.

"Me, too. Or, they were going to kill me and I escaped. They found out about Snoke."

Rey nodded, remembering. Ben tilted his head.

"But why would the Resistance banish you? You are important to them."

"I was," she said, setting her plate down. "After Leia and Chewie died... Everyone started to have different ideas about how to restore peace to the galaxy. Some proposed a plan to find you and kill you." She bowed her head. "I protested. They accused me of treason and kicked me out."

"Because of me?" he asked, awestruck.

"Yes, because―because I didn't want them to kill you," Rey blushed and lowered her head even further.

Ben was quiet, then he said, "After I escaped, I had a feeling I should come here, to this very spot on Jakku. You were the one who called me, weren't you?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. It's possible."

"If you did, why?"

She raised her head to see his face, her cheeks still warm. "You... You're the only person who's ever understood me, and not just because the Force is connecting us. My own friends banished me, I was alone, and the only person―all I could think about―was you." She found her breathing a little labored. She had been afraid to admit this.

"You need to be banished in order for me to be in your head?"

"That's not―" she began to protest.

"I know that's not what you meant," he said, a hint of a smile on his pale face. "It was a joke." She sighed exasperatedly and he gently took her hand. He wasn't wearing gloves; when did he take them off? "You're always in my head. I've thought about you every day since the day I met you."

"I have, too," Rey said, breathily. His face then became genuinely confused, and she almost laughed at the sudden change from his serious expression.

"Why?"

Rey scooted even closer to him, their faces only inches apart.

"Guess."

His eyes widened in shock, like he couldn't believe she could ever feel anything for him, which made her sad. She angled her head to the right a bit, her eyes half-lidded. She could count all the moles and freckles on his face.

_CLANG!_

Rey whipped her head towards the doorway of the AT-AT.

"What was that?" Ben asked, annoyed at whatever caused their moment to be interrupted. Rey ran outside to see a familiar face. Loathsome, but familiar.

"Teedo," she said with gritted teeth. The green little thief cackled and made a remark. The two of them exchanged heated words, mostly on Rey's part. Ben had caught the last bit of the conversation as he exited the AT-AT, Teedo already on his way.

"What did he say about the Falcon?"

"Unkar Plutt," Rey replied, giving him a worried look. "His thugs are trying to get into the ship. I've got to do something!" She made a run for her speeder.

"By yourself?"

"I assumed you were coming." She climbed onto the faded red machine, the corner of her mouth lifting. Ben lowered his head, hiding a growing smile and climbed on behind her.

 

Unkar Plutt, not a strong fighter himself, always had his hired hands do the dirty work. At the moment, he stood to the side and watched contentedly as they struggled to open the bay door of the Millennium Falcon. As he expected, a rusty speeder arrived at Niima Outpost with a stubborn scavenger riding it. He did not expect, however, to see someone else with her. No matter. There were only two of them.

Rey bore her teeth at the pudgy slave owner.

"You have no right!" she shouted at him, eyes piercing in his direction like knives.

"I have every right," he retorted. "You stole my ship."

"It wasn't yours to begin with! That ship belonged to Han Solo!"

"Tell me something I don't know," he growled. Then he pointed a swollen finger at her. "And last time I checked, your name ain't Han Solo." A man, the one who arrived with Rey, stepped forward. He was all dressed in black and taller than the girl, probably trying to look menacing. Unkar was unimpressed.

"Got somethin' to say, boy?"

"You will leave this ship alone and never bother Rey ever again," he said seriously, brow furrowed. Unkar laughed, surprising the young man.

"It won't work on him," Rey told the man, still glaring at the trader. "He is the most hateful living thing I've ever met, but he is not weak-minded."

"I think those are the kindest words you've ever said to me. Now get out of here."

"I won't!" She stood her ground.

"Foolish girl, have you forgotten your place?" He raised a hand to strike her.

Then Rey took out a weapon Unkar had only heard about in stories ― a lightsaber. It glowed a blinding blue. Then the man next to her ignited a crackling, red one. Unkar scowled.

"You will never strike me again," Rey said angrily. "Now leave this ship!"

"I'd listen to her," the man said. His eyes held more rage than hers. Unkar looked back to his men and motioned with his head. Immediately, they took out their blasters and shot at them.

To his surprise, they deflected every shot with their lightsabers, disarming his men. He roared and reached for his own blaster, but before he could, he felt a searing pain and found he was missing a hand. The scavenger girl had cut it off! He bellowed with pain.

"Leave now!" she thundered.

"You'll pay for this!" he threatened as he stumbled away, the men following him.

 

Rey put away her weapon and looked at Ben. He stared back at her calmly.

"That was something I never thought I'd ever do in a million years," she said and sighed. "Thank you, Ben."

"For helping you fight those thugs? You wouldn't have needed me for that."

"No," she shook her head. "You gave me the courage to confront Unkar Plutt." She looked in the direction that the wretched trader had fled. "He's not so evil that he should be killed, but at least I taught him a lesson. He's tormented me for as long as I can remember."

"Like Snoke," Ben said bitterly. Rey put a hand on his arm. Then she got an idea.

"Do you want to go inside the Falcon?"

He stepped back. "No, it's fine."

"There are more porgs."

She didn't miss the way his eyes lit up. "Well, it doesn't do me any harm," he said. She grinned and he followed her to the bay door, pulling a secret lever she and Chewie had installed months ago.

She watched his reaction the whole time. He couldn't hide his wonder and curiosity as he walked into the ship, eyes rapidly looking from one place to another. She wondered how long it had been since he was on board, or if he had ever been on board...

She followed him into the cockpit, and immediately he went for the pair of dice that hung above the seats―they had once been Han's. Ben turned around and looked at Rey.

"You've flown this thing, right?"

"Yeah," she answered, a little confused.

He looked down. His hair hid most of his face, but she could see that he was blushing. "What's it like?"

She blinked. "Want me to show you?" She sat in the left chair and he slowly took a seat on the right. Starting the engine, she glanced at him with a smile. They lifted off, Ben's eyes wide in excitement and anticipation. Rey took them thousand of feet into the sky before saying, "You try. Ready?"

He swallowed and nodded. This must have been an important moment for him. He took control, speeding across the desert sky, high enough to skim the edge of the atmosphere, but not quite leaving it.

"Woah," came his reaction, not expecting a fast response from such an old ship. Then he started spinning the ship, spiraling down towards the dunes. Rey grinned as she gripped the edge of her seat.

They were moving so fast, Ben almost didn't see a ship headed their way.

"Hey―!" Rey started. They almost collided before he wrenched them off course, throwing them nearly out of their seats.

"Sorry," he muttered, but she couldn't hear him through her laughter. She turned to him and he smiled, showing his slightly crooked teeth. It was good to see him smile. They looked at each other.

Then they heard a small explosion.

"That can’t be good!" Rey jumped out of her seat. "I’ll see what it is, put us on the ground!" she called as she ran out of the cockpit.

She felt the ship shake violently as they landed with a thud. Nearly thrown off her feet, she raced down the hallway, through the resting area, and into a cargo holding room. In the wall of the room was a large, round device that was spitting sparks everywhere.

The sound of Ben's running footsteps grew louder until they were right behind her.

"What happened?" he asked.

"It's just the shield generator," she assured him. "I can fix this in no time. The problem is the loose wires," she said, pointing to the damage. "They're all frayed now. We need to get some new ones."

So they did, back at Niima Outpost. Unsurprisingly, Unkar Plutt was not around. Even so, they decided to keep the ship close to the AT-AT, where it'd be in their sights at all times. "Fixing it in no time" was an overstatement. Rey knew what she was doing, but it was taking a lot longer than she thought it would.

She worked for hours, Ben brought her dinner, and she kept at it until her eyes felt itchy in want of rest. She sighed and stood, stretching her cramped legs. It'd be finished tomorrow morning.

She slept restlessly in the AT-AT, waking up several times during the night. Ben had not come in. Perhaps he was sleeping in the Falcon? Or had he gone off somewhere again? She got up from her bed and pulled an old blanket around her shoulders as she could hear that it was windy outside again.

Making her way inside the ship, she heard tools clanking. A nest of porgs stared up at her blearily and chirped. Clearly, they did not like being woken up.

Rey found Ben inside the cargo hold, trying to rewire the shield generator. The space was too small for his big frame, so he was forced to crouch in front of it. His brow was furrowed in concentration and sweat lined the top of his forehead. Hearing her come in, he glanced at her before resuming his work.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" he asked.

"Shouldn't you?" she returned.

"I'm the one who caused the damage, I should fix it."

Rey kneeled next to him. "You didn't cause it. This ship is old; it's not the first time something's exploded in here." She looked at his hands. "You're hurt." His fingers were cut and bleeding from handling the wires.

"It's nothing," he mumbled.

"Hey," she put a hand over his and he stopped working. She swallowed as he looked at her. She took both of his hands into her lap. "Don't you have gloves? This looks painful." She inspected the cuts, holding his hands tenderly.

He glanced at their hands before meeting her eyes again. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" She had started to gently massaging his fingers.

"My hands have blood all over them," he protested. "They're dirty." He tried to tug them away but Rey held on.

"My hands are dirty, too," she said. She felt the corner of her mouth lift slightly. When had he gotten so close to her? Or had she gotten closer to him?

She felt his hands and saw his face shake. He was scared. Her own heart was racing.

"Ben," she said softly. She leaned even closer, his hurried breath hitting her lips "Don't be afraid. I feel it, too.”

"I'm not afraid―"

She didn't let him finish because she kissed him on the mouth. It was something she'd wanted to do for a long time. He didn't respond, and when she pulled away she saw that he was shocked. Why was he always so surprised by her affections? He recovered, scooting closer to her, their breaths mingling and his eyes on her lips. She looked down at his mouth then back at his eyes, a question.

He answered by gently putting his hand at the side of her neck to kiss her. It was achingly slow, and Rey soon found herself in his arms. He was so tender as he caressed her, she wanted to cry.

Their heads pulled away and they held each other. She buried her face in his shoulder.

“What are we going to do?” She laughed as she said it, despite the serious question.

“I don’t know,” he said quietly. He took her face in his hands. “But I know that I wanna be with you.”

“I wanna be with you, too,” she said with a smile. He smiled back, it was sad, but it was still a smile.

So they went back to the AT-AT, sleeping side by side. As Ben fell asleep, Rey stroked his face and counted all the beauty marks before her own eyes felt heavy. They’d sleep in content tonight, and although they didn’t have a plan for tomorrow, although they were two exiles living in a barren desert, it didn’t matter right now. They could wait for things to feel wrong again. In that moment, everything felt right.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I think my favorite scenes to write in all stories are when the two characters are about to kiss and there's all this tension in the air and then BAM they're interrupted ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Everyday is a day closer to ep 9 and more REYLO!!!!  
> And I would just like to add that I don't believe Rey's friends would actually kick her out of the Resistance, it's just an idea that I had :)


End file.
